1. Field of Invention
This invention is an economical method for recovering phosphate as a product from liquid streams through the use of autotrophic organisms that increase the pH and reduce the alkalinity of the liquid stream thereby reducing the need to purchase chemicals that increase the pH or reduce the alkalinity for the rapid production of phosphate precipitates.
2. Background
Phosphorus is an essential plant nutrient required for food production. The world has a limited supply of phosphorus to meet those needs. Unfortunately, most of the mined phosphorus is discharged or lost to the environment during food production and consumption. The discharge of phosphorus from agricultural drainage and waste treatment facilities also creates significant environmental problems such as stream, lake or estuary eutrophication resulting in reduced dissolved oxygen levels needed to support aquatic life. Phosphate also creates waste treatment difficulties by forming uncontrolled precipitates that clog pipes and hinder waste processing. As a result there is an intense interest in developing processes to recover phosphorus for reuse and to control unwanted precipitate formation. Phosphorus can be recovered from waterways, within waste treatment facilities, or the downstream anaerobic waste stabilization processes commonly used in municipal or agricultural waste processing. Anaerobic treatment processes are designed to reduce the volume of the solids while converting those solids to soluble inorganic and gaseous products. Anaerobic digestion causes the destruction of solids and the generation of methane, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide gases along with soluble inorganic products such as ammonia, phosphorus, magnesium, and calcium. The ammonia and phosphorus concentrations found in an anaerobic digester's effluent (digestate) are typically high. Ammonia concentrations of 500 to 3,500 mg/L and phosphorus concentrations of 50 to 500 mg/L are not uncommon. On the other hand, the phosphorus concentration in streams and waterways should be less than 0.1 mg/L.
To be recovered, orthophosphate (dissolved phosphorus) is converted to the particulate (solid) form and removed as a particulate by sedimentation, screening, filtration, or as a chemical precipitate that may or may not be crystallized. Phosphates that are associated with particulate matter can be screened through a series of fine screens. There are three basic phosphorus removal processes used in wastewater treatment: chemical, biological, and nano. Nano processes are processes that remove very fine particular matter through processes such as fine screening or membrane filtration. Biological phosphorus removal consists of accumulating dissolved phosphorus within phosphate accumulating organisms (PAO's) and exporting that particulate phosphorus in the biological waste stream (biosolids). Chemical processes convert phosphorus to a chemical species by adding a metal salt such as iron, aluminum, magnesium, calcium, lime or a combination of those chemicals. The efficiency of chemical phosphorus removal is dependent on two factors: the chemical equilibrium between the phosphorus liquid and solid phases and the efficiency of the solids removal process. Typically, the latter process controls the removal efficiency while the chemical use controls the cost.
Removal of phosphate by chemical addition is attractive for its simplicity of operation and ease of implementation. The commonly used chemicals are aluminum [Al(III)], ferric [Fe(III)], calcium [Ca(II)], Lime (CaO) or Magnesium (MgO, MgOH, MgCl2]. On the other hand those chemicals may increase the alkalinity thereby increasing the time required for precipitation of various phosphate compounds. Chemical treatment provides an opportunity for nutrient recovery of both phosphorus and nitrogen. In particular, controlled struvite precipitation processes, such as DHV's Crystalactor® (Netherlands), Paques' PHOSPAQ® (Netherlands), and Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies' PEARL™ process, are emerging processes that recover both nitrogen and phosphorus. Struvite or magnesium ammonium phosphate (MAP) precipitation is effective for phosphorus control, but cannot substantially reduce ammonia concentrations in the digestate. Available phosphate generally limits struvite ammonia recovery to less than 20%. However, struvite recovery is one of the few if not the only process that recovers some nitrogen and phosphorus. This invention does both. It can remove substantially all of the nitrogen and phosphate as any of a variety of nitrogen compounds and calcium phosphate, potassium ammonium phosphate (KAP), or magnesium ammonium phosphate (MAP), also known as struvite.
It is well known that aqueous phosphate can be very effectively precipitated with an excess of Ca++ ions as calcium phosphate under conditions of high pH and low bicarbonate alkalinity. The addition of hydrated lime [Ca(OH)2] is very effective in achieving both conditions since it provides the calcium required while increasing the pH. Lime, however, is a cumbersome chemical to use. Similarly, magnesium oxide (MgO) or magnesium hydroxide (MgOH), with or without NaOH, can provide the magnesium necessary while increasing the pH required for struvite or MAP recovery. Less costly chemicals, such as calcium chloride or magnesium chloride, can be used if the pH did not have to be raised to levels of 8 to 10 through the use of caustic chemicals such as NaOH, and MgOH. Less costly chemicals such as CaCl2 (common road salt) or MgCl2 could be used if the pH increase and alkalinity reduction were performed by an alternative process.
Formation of calcium phosphate requires low bicarbonate alkalinity. Ferguson18 found that the rate of calcium phosphate production was primarily dependent on low alkalinity. For example, in one of his demonstrations he showed that the time required to remove 0.05 mM of phosphate at an alkalinity of 3.5 mM was 100 hours, whereas the time required to remove the same 0.05 mM of phosphate at an alkalinity of 0.5 mM was less than 10 hours. Alkalinity had a profound impact on the rate of removal, the required size of the reactors, and the efficiency of the process. Angel19 had a similar experience. He successfully demonstrated at pilot scale the removal of 98% of sewage phosphate as Ca2(PO4)2. However, when he applied the technology at full scale it failed economically due to the “real world” higher alkalinities. 1 Jenkins, Eastman, and Ferguson, Calcium Phosphate Precipitation at Slightly Alkaline pH Values, Journal WPCF Vol. 45, No. 4, April 1973 page 623.2 R. Angel, Removal of Phosphate from Sewage as Amorphous Calcium Phosphate, Enviroment Technology, Vol 30, pg 709-720, March 1999
Previous research has established that economical chemical removal and recovery of MAP or calcium phosphate requires high pH, low alkalinity, and highly soluble chemicals to provide magnesium or calcium ions. This invention provides those required conditions.
Burke3 received a patent on a process to recover ammonia nitrogen from liquid waste streams without the use of chemicals. The process is an economical method for recovering nitrogen from liquid waste using autotrophic microorganisms in a photobioreactor without chemical additives. The organisms consumed CO2 and bicarbonate thereby reducing alkalinity while increasing the pH. The liquid containing phosphate is introduced into a culture of autotrophic microorganisms in the presence of natural or artificial light, thereby producing a liquid effluent with an elevated pH and a substantially reduced bicarbonate alkalinity. While operating Burke's nitrogen removal process to recover ammonia from a highly concentrated digestate, it was observed that a precipitate began to accumulate in the photobioreactor. While demonstrating the process, it was also observed that the reactor was substantially devoid of calcium and that the alkalinity was very low due to the consumption of bicarbonate by the phototrophic organisms being grown in the photobioreactor. Further investigation established that the precipitate was amorphous calcium phosphate. A number of experiments were subsequently conducted to further remove phosphate by adding either calcium chloride or magnesium chloride to the effluent. Rapid (several minutes) precipitation and settling of calcium phosphate occurred upon the addition of small quantities of calcium chloride. Similarly a slower forming precipitate was produced upon the addition of magnesium chloride. It was clear that another method of economically removing and recovering phosphate from liquid streams had been discovered. The method does not require the addition of pH-increasing and bicarbonate-reducing chemicals. Simple inexpensive chemicals, such as ammonium chloride or magnesium chloride, could be used to supply the required Ca++ or Mg++ ions. 3 Dennis A. Burke, U.S. Pat. No. 8,637,304, Jan. 28, 2014.
3. Description of Related Art
Existing and emerging technologies for the removal and/or recovery of phosphate are thoroughly described in the existing technical literature, such as “Phosphate and Nitrogen Removal from Municipal Wastewater, Principles and Practice4;” “Phosphorus in Action Biological Processes in Soil Phosphorus Cycling5;” “Phosphorus Losses from Soil to Water6;” “Nutrient Removal, WTF Manual of Practice Number 347;” “Phosphorus in Fresh Water and the Marine Environment: Progress in Water Technology8;” “Phosphorus Removal from Wastewater9;” and “Struvite Precipitation and Biological Dissolution10.” Although many processes have been developed, there have been only a limited number of U.S. patents on removal of phosphorus from concentrated wastewater. 4Phosphate and Nitrogen Removal from Municipal Wastewater, Principles and Practice, Richard Sedlak, 1991, Lewis Publishers.5 Phosphorus in Action Biological Processes in Soil Phosphorus Cycling, Bunemann, Oberson, Frossard, 2011, Springer, Berlin.6 Phosphorus Losses from Soil to Water, H. Tunney, O T Carton, P. C. Brooks, A. E. Johnston, 1997, CAB International, NY, N.Y.7 Nutrient Removal, WTF Manual of Practice Number 34, 2011 Water Environment Federation Alexandria, Va.8 Phosphorus in Fresh Water and the Marine Environment: Progress in Water Technology , S. H. Jenkins, January 1973, Pergamon Press.9 Phosphorus Removal from Wastewater Using Oven Dried Alum Sludge, Sarmad Rashid, Wadood Mohammed Jan. 8, 2013.10 Struvite Precipitation and Biological Dissolution, Ander Ezquerro, June 2010, KTH-Water, Sewage and Waste Technology, Department of Land and Water Resource Engineering, Royl Institute of Technology (KTH), SE-10044 Stockholm, Sweden.
In June 1960, Caldwell received U.S. Pat. No. 2,942,967 for the “Production of a Calcium Phosphate Fertilizer with Reduced Hygroscopicity.” The process utilized a number of chemicals, including HNO3, HCl, KCl, NH3, and NH4NO3 to produce a potassium ammonium phosphate fertilizer, a process that would be uneconomical today.
In 1976, Kleber received U.S. Pat. No. 3,956,118 for a method to chemically remove phosphates from waste waters by treating the phosphate-containing waste water with a trivalent rare earth salt, generally as a mixture of such salts, to form an insoluble rare earth phosphate precipitate, and then separating the precipitate from the waste water.
In September 2000, Bender received U.S. Pat. No. 6,123,981 for a method for recovering orthophosphate from animal feed processing. Alkaline trisodium orthophosphate was reacted and sterilized with calcium chloride to form calcium phosphate. The resulting precipitate was removed from the aqueous stream by filtration or centrifugation or other means for separation.
In May 2005, Vinotti, et al., received U.S. Pat. No. 6,893,567 for a wastewater treatment system that consisted of nitrification of wastewater and increasing the pH of the nitrified wastewater by adding a metal-containing salt and sodium hydroxide to precipitate phosphorus as a useable product having a specified nitrogen to phosphorus ratio. The precipitated phosphorus is recovered and used to form useable phosphorus products. The process relies on reduced levels of carbonate, ammonium buffers, and suspended solids by adding an alkaline earth base to said wastewater to precipitate soluble phosphate. The alkaline earth base was selected from the group consisting of calcium hydroxide, magnesium hydroxide, calcium oxide, magnesium oxide, and mixtures thereof. Basically, the process reduces the buffering capacity of the waste by removing the ammonia through a nitrification process followed by chemically increasing the pH and alkalinity through the addition of caustic chemicals. Burke's proposed process (this application) removes ammonia nitrogen through any of a variety of known or to be known processes followed by the use of phototrophic organisms to increase the pH and reduce the alkalinity. A portion of the ammonia separated by the process can be used to meet the requirements for struvite precipitation. Less costly metal ions, such as calcium chloride or magnesium chloride, are added to precipitate MAP or a variety of calcium phosphate compounds.
In April 2012, Zhang, et al., received U.S. Pat. No. 8,158,089, entitled “Compositions and Methods for Wastewater Treatment.” The patent application was motivated by the fact that MAP or struvite could not be precipitated from digestate containing both calcium and magnesium such as anaerobically digested dairy manure. The phosphorous was bound up as calcium phosphate, preventing precipitation of magnesium phosphate. The process consisted of utilizing a wastewater having calcium-sequestered phosphate (unavailable phosphate); adding to the wastewater a calcium chelating or sequestration agent suitable to chelate or sequester Ca++ ions from the calcium-sequestered phosphate to facilitate release of phosphate from the calcium-sequestered phosphate; transferring, facilitated by said Ca++ ion capture and in the presence of sufficient concentrations of NH4+ and Mg++ ions; converting the phosphate into struvite (magnesium ammonium phosphate hexahydrate or MgNH4PO6H2O), or hydrated magnesium ammonium complex of phosphate; and recovering the struvite, or the formed hydrated magnesium ammonium complex. Preferably, the method further comprised acidification of the effluent or wastewater to facilitate release of Ca++ ions from the calcium-sequestered phosphate and chelation or sequestration of the Ca++ ions by the calcium chelating or sequestration agent. The method can further provide a phosphate-containing fertilizer comprising struvite, and methods for making same.
In October 2014, Barak received U.S. Pat. No. 8,864,992, entitled “Phosphate Recovery from Acid Phase Anaerobic Digesters.” The patent described a method for recovering phosphate from sewage treatment plants using multi-stage anaerobic digestion process that includes the treatment of organic acid digestate with calcium hydroxide, calcium oxide, and similar compounds to raise pH to near neutral values and precipitate calcium phosphate compounds such as brushite and similar amorphous compounds. The method included the formation of calcium phosphates on weak-acid ion exchange columns and membranes in contact with organic acid digestate. The system included removal of the calcium phosphate compounds formed by sedimentation, either static or against an upwelling flow, centrifugation, or filtration.
There have been numerous articles, publications and books on struvite formation and the factors controlling precipitation. Besides the pH, those factors include temperature, ionic strength of the solution, and magnesium ammonium and phosphates' molar ratios. The optimum pH value is close to 9.2 for MAP precipitation. The optimum loading to the reactor is supposed to be close to Mg:NH4:PO4=1.7:1:1.1 M. The optimum loading is rarely used due to the relatively high costs of the raw chemicals that are needed compared to the conventional methods for phosphate removal. Usually, NaOH is used to control the pH and some magnesium salt is added to supply the needed Mg++ ions. Normally, there is an overabundance of ammonium. Raw chemicals costs are primarily for MgO or another source of magnesium and NaOH. The high cost of chemicals to increase the pH and reduce alkalinity discourages adoption of the process since it is not economical due to the high cost of magnesium compounds.
In May 2010, Amba, et al., received U.S. Pat. No. 7,722,768 for a process that simultaneously removed BOD and phosphate from waste water. The process consisted of feeding a liquid containing BOD-oxidizing biomass to a reactor; ensuring that the liquid in the reactor contains an excess of the stoichiometry of ammonium and magnesium relative to phosphate and struvite; oxidizing at least part of the BOD; adjusting the pH of the liquid in the reactor at a desired value; forming solid struvite in the reactor; separating at least part of the solid material from the reactor effluent; and returning a part of the solid material to the reactor. The pH of the reactor was increased to 7.5 to 11. The process maintained a biomass retention time in the reactor such that nitrification of ammonium in the reactor was below 25%. The pH was adjusted by removing CO2 and adding chemicals to achieve pH values of 8 to 9. Phosphate was removed by struvite crystallization in a second reactor by feeding MgCl2 and NaOH solutions.
In November 2010, Chung, et al., received U.S. Pat. No. 7,842,186 for a method of removing phosphorus and/or nitrogen that consisted of stripping CO2 from an anaerobic digester effluent without the addition of an alkaline substance, and “then providing proper pH of 8.4 to 9.6” to form struvite. They also claimed a method of injecting an alkaline substance into early-, mid- or late-stage of step (b), CO2 stripping. Chung also claimed that many researchers have reported that the appropriate pH for MAP formation is from 8 to 10. The optimum pH is reported as 9.0 to 9.2. However, most of the developed MAP producing technologies use alkaline substances to increase the pH, but fail to achieve a pH higher than 9 due to high expense of NaOH addition. Further, it is unclear if Chung adds chemicals following CO2 stripping. It has been known for many years that one can achieve pH values of 8.3 to 8.4 through ammonia stripping. But, something else must be done to raise the pH beyond 8.4. Chung states that increases in pH occur without addition of alkaline substance, through CO2 stripping alone. The justification was that “When the carbon dioxide is stripped from the treated water of step (a), the pH naturally increases up to 8.4 to 9.6 without addition of alkaline substance.”
In September 2011, Becker, et al., received U.S. Pat. No. 8,017,019 for a fluidized bed precipitator with optimized solids settling and solids handling features for use in recovering phosphorus from wastewater. Becker stated the following: “Fluidized bed systems for precipitating phosphorus from waste waters are typically operated under the assumption that a pH adjusting additive and a magnesium ion contributor are needed to achieve high (>70%) phosphorus recovery levels. However, it has been found that high phosphorus recoveries can be obtained in such fluidized bed systems by addition of an additive consisting essentially of an ammoniacal material, and especially a material selected from the group consisting of liquid ammonia, gaseous ammonia, and mixtures thereof. Use of such ammoniacal materials, in lieu of pH adjustors such as NaOH, favors struvite production over alternative precipitates, making for higher solids retainment and easier solids handling.” In other words, chemicals to increase the pH were unnecessary. It is also known that as MAP forms at a pH close to 9.2, Mg+++NH4++H2PO4−+6 H2O→MgNH4PO4.6H2O+2H+ alkalinity is reduced.
In September 2012, Chung received U.S. Pat. No. 8,263,034 for a nitrogen-rich waste water treatment method for producing struvite. This invention provided supplemental phosphorus to treat waste with a high nitrogen content. The method includes the steps of: (a) an anaerobic treatment step treating the wastewater and a first solution containing phosphorus ion with anaerobic microorganisms in an anaerobic reactor; and (b) struvite formation in a struvite reactor for producing struvite. In addition, step (b) further comprises a step of adjusting the pH to 8 or higher by adding a base. The base used may be NaOH, KOH and the like as a general alkali agent and the base is not particularly limited in the invention.
In April 2014, Ren, et al., received U.S. Pat. No. 8,702,992 for a continuous flow reactor and method of using the same for treating nitrogen and phosphorus containing wastewater. The reactor was a-continuous flow reactor, including a cylindrical coagulation crystallizer. Ren claimed that studies show that the optimal pH value in the recovery of nitrogen and phosphorus by the MAP crystallization and precipitation method ranges from 9.0 to 10.7, and when the molar ratio of all components for precipitating MAP is controlled according to the following relationship: n(Mg++):n(NH4+):n(PO43−)=1.2-1.4:1:0.8-1, the ratio for forming struvite is optimal. Therefore, the dosage and variety of Mg salt are the key factors for formation of magnesium ammonium phosphate. The reactor includes a pH regulator that controls pH through the addition of HCl solution (acid liquor) or NaOH solution (alkaline liquor). The magnesium source is MgSO4, MgCl, MgO, or a mixture thereof. The pH regulator solution is added in the reaction process to retain the stable pH value in the reaction liquid, so that the the optimal crystallization process of MAP is realized.
Hemmes et al. received U.S. Pat. No. 8,802,323 in August 2014 for the production of ammonium salts and decomposing those salts to produce ammonia gas as the fuel for a fuel cell. One of the salts chosen was struvite that was formed by adding phosphate and one or more alkaline earth cations to the ammonium solution. Crystallization was induced by controlling the pH and temperature. The pH was controlled by adding chemicals. The crystals formed were magnesium ammonium phosphate (MAP) or potassium ammonium phosphate (KAP). Other salt metals could be chosen from Li, K, Mg, Ca, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu or Zn, and the anions were selected from fluoride, chloride, bromide, iodide, nitrate, thiocyanate, sulphate, molybdate, phosphate, and chlorate ions. The crystallization unit may be a fluid bed crystallizer or a slurry crystallizer.
The existing art of removing orthophosphate from a liquid stream consists of adding chemicals that increase the pH to an optimum of 9.2 and thereby form calcium phosphate or MAP. The different ways of increasing pH identified in the prior art are the addition of MgO, MgOH, CaO or CaOH, NaOH, or CO2 stripping. The use of lower cost chemicals, such as MgCl2 or CaCl2, to provide calcium or magnesium ions requires the use of a base such as sodium hydroxide.
Some embodiments of the present invention use methods and apparatus previously disclosed in U.S. patents to Burke and in U.S. Pat. No. 8,404,121 to Bias, et al. In May 2005, Burke received U.S. Pat. No. 6,893,572 for a solids accumulating flotation—separator. The separator provided a method for accomplishing the separation of solids from liquids utilizing a variety of gases in a closed reactor. The method comprises feeding an influent stream containing liquids and solids into a vessel while removing clarified liquid during the feeding process. The method further includes emptying the solids from the vessel based on the solids having formed a float blanket of a predetermined depth. The solids are removed from the vessel through a bottom nozzle as opposed to being skimmed off the top surface with mechanical separators. The process provided an ideal means for managing both gases and suspended solids in a closed vessel.
In 2013 Bias, et al., received U.S. Pat. No. 8,404,121 for a method for separating suspended solids from a waste fluid utilizing the same vessel as Burke's U.S. Pat. No. 6,893,572, except that the solids were removed from the top using a circular weir, a practice that other investigators have been unable to duplicate without diluting the float solids concentration. The Bias, et al., disclosure relates to a separation process in which an aerated inlet mixture of fluid and solids is fed into a flotation separation vessel and is separated into an upper float layer and a lower clarified layer. The upper float layer is withdrawn from the vessel when the height of the upper float layer exceeds the height of an overflow conduit and forms a concentrated solids effluent. The lower clarified layer is withdrawn from the separation vessel as a clarified fluid effluent. The separation process is performed continuously using a control process that maintains a relatively stable distribution between the lower clarified layer and the upper float layer. The resulting process was claimed to have improved stability (e.g., being continuously operable without interruption and/or operable for extended periods between intermittent cleaning processes) and provides a concentrated solids effluent with solids concentrations higher than those previously attainable in similar separation processes.
In October 2010, Burke received U.S. Pat. No. 7,811,455 for a method for removal of ammonia nitrogen from anaerobic fermentation effluent and sequestration as ammonium bicarbonate and/or carbonate while producing a higher BTU biogas. The method included the steps of removing the slurry from the digester, stripping the ammonia from the slurry or portion thereof with a high BTU biogas, blending the stripped ammonia with the digester's biogas to remove the carbon dioxide and precipitate ammonium bicarbonate/carbonate as a solid while producing a high BTU biogas, a portion of which is used to strip the ammonia and CO2 from the slurry. The process removed ammonia nitrogen from the digester effluent while producing a high BTU biogas and a solid ammonium bicarbonate/carbonate product. Ammonia stripping was accomplished with a recycled stripping gas deficient in CO2 and ammonia that is capable of removing the CO2 and ammonia from solution by virtue of the lower partial pressures of CO2 and ammonia.
Ammonia stripping was accomplished by raising the pH and/or temperature to shift the ammonium to ammonia gas and strip the gas. The pH was increased by adding caustic chemicals or by CO2 gas stripping. The caustic chemical reagents included one or more of the hydroxides of sodium, magnesium, potassium or calcium, or magnesium oxide. The process also included increasing the pH of the liquid stream effluent from the digester through the use of live microorganisms that consume carbon dioxide and/or consume bicarbonate/carbonate. The process further included passing the biogas through a biological treatment process to remove hydrogen sulfide and oxygen therefrom prior to its entry into an ammonium bicarbonate precipitation chamber.
In January 2014, Burke received U.S. Pat. No. 8,637,304 for ammonia nitrogen recovery through a biological process. The process provided an economical method for recovering nitrogen from liquid waste using autotrophic organisms and minimal energy inputs and without chemical additives. Solids were separated from anaerobically digested liquid waste using a solids, liquid, gas separator similar to that disclosed in Burke's U.S. Pat. No. 6,893,572. Bias, et al., duplicated that separator and their method used the same vessel. FIG. 3 of Burke's U.S. Pat. No. 6,893,572 is presented herein in FIG. 6 as prior art. The process included removal of suspended solids from the digested liquid and stripping carbon dioxide from the digested liquid by a vacuum flotation degassing unit. The stripping gas included air. Claim 6 of Burke's U.S. Pat. No. 6,893,572 stated in relevant part: “The method . . . further comprising passing digested liquid of step (a) through a liquid/solids separator prior to step (b) and passing a purge gas through the liquid solids separator, thereby producing a carbon dioxide enriched gaseous effluent from said liquid/solids separator. As shown in FIG. 6, digestate or a liquid containing suspended solids, ammonia and CO2 entered the separator. Gas, delivered with or without a blower or compressor, was also introduced into the separator and sparged below the digestate influent. At the same time, a vacuum pump removed a CO2-enriched gas and a gas deficient in ammonia. The effluent liquid having a higher pH and low solids content was subsequently discharged.
Burke's U.S. Pat. No. 8,637,304 for ammonia nitrogen recovery through a biological process separated solids and CO2 from anaerobically digested liquid waste. After pretreatment the resulting translucent liquid was introduced to a culture of autotrophic microorganisms in the presence of natural or artificial light, thereby accumulating biomass and producing a liquid effluent with elevated pH. The elevated-pH, liquid effluent was heated and stripped of ammonia, thereby producing a water vapor and stripped ammonia gas stream. The water vapor ammonia gas stream was condensed to form a liquid/ammonia condensate. The autotrophic microorganisms were advantageously cultivated in a photobioreactor comprising a plurality of axially spaced-apart, growth plates mounted for rotation to a shaft. The pH of the culture was adjustable within a preferred range of 8.0 to 10.5 by adjusting the light intensity and rotational speed. Ammonia and water vapor were stripped from the plates and condensed to form a liquid ammonia condensate. The method included restripping the liquid ammonia condensate or use of a gas-permeable membrane to form a more concentrated liquid ammonia condensate by removing water.
In February 2014, Burke received U.S. Pat. No. 8,895,279 for applications of the rotating photobioreactor, which disclosed a method whereby microorganisms consume bicarbonate in a nutrient-laden, liquid influent, causing the pH of the liquid introduced to increase and convert ammonium to ammonia gas. The ammonia gas, together with water vapor, was stripped by passage of stripping gas past the growth plates. The process included condensing the stripped gas using a chiller to form a condensate product.
In 2015, Burke filed U.S. Pat. No. application 2015/0079651 for a method to recover and harvest nutrients and volatile gases such as alcohols from a liquid stream using a fixed film photobioreactor. The method was a process for recovering volatile and non-volatile products from a substrate-laden influent stream using microorganisms growing in a rotating bioreactor contactor. The bioreactor included a vessel, a shaft mounted for rotation within said vessel about a shaft axis, a plurality of axially spaced-apart, growth plates attached to the shaft, each of the plates having surfaces to which a fixed film of the microorganisms are attached, and means for rotating the shaft and plates about the axis. The method comprised the simultaneous steps of: (a) operating the rotating bioreactor as an aerobic, facultative, or anaerobic reactor; (b) feeding the influent stream past the growth plates such that the growth plates were partially submerged within the stream, whereby, as they grew, the microorganisms converted the substrate to volatile products and accumulated biomass; and (c) passing a stripping gas past the growth plates to harvest the volatile product's as stripped gas. The microorganisms included heterotrophic microorganisms capable of converting the substrate into alcohols, whereby the stripped gas included butanol or other linear or branched chain alcohols. The process also included producing an effluent stream of highly concentrated aqua ammonia concentrated to 12 percent (w/w) or more, suitable for use in the pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass for renewable energy production, or an effluent stream comprises a highly concentrated aqua ammonia concentrated to 20 percent (w/w) or more, suitable for use as diesel exhaust fluid.